I bought my first 1911, a colt wiley clapp commander in 9mm and shot it for the first time today. Put well over 500 rounds through to break it in and test... 124gr HST carry ammo, 115 gr corbons, FMJ, factory mags and wilson mags, not so much as a hiccup. This is actually the first pistol I have ever had that performed this flawlessly on the first day.

This is why i'm surprised... I did a lot of research on the web on 1911s, and really wanted a 9mm for ammo commonality with my other pistols. From what I read over the last few months, I expected all kinds of issue with this thing. Failures to feed, failures to extract, stovepipes, picky with JHP ammo etc. Long story made short I'm a convert to 1911s.
Biggest surprise of the day to me was that I shot some 45 versions that a friend bought and there didn't feel to me like there was all that big of a difference from the 9mm. Although this was immediately after emptying a cylinder on a 500 S&W magnum so my hand was probably still numb.

Have a good veterans day all

Congrats on your gun.  Congrats on that it works.  And where's the pics?  

You must be a manly man.  I notice a big difference between 9mm and .45 in a 1911.  To me a 9mm 1911 fulls sized steel feels like a .22 with warm ammo.

That's great news! The 3 9mm Colts I just bough work perfectly. Though the Competiton 9mm struggled with my 124gr HST, and the slide would not lock back after cheap federal Walmart Brass 115gr. I think the springs are a little overkill on the Competition model. I will either install a lighter spring or put a bunch more rounds through it and see if that solves the issue.

There is a significant difference between 9mm and 45 out of all sizes of 1911s for me. My full size Government 9mms (Colt Competition and Kimber TLE Custom II 9mm Threaded) don't really recoil at all. It is like shooting a 22lr. With 45acp there is A LOT of recoil for me. YMMV.

CopyPasta from an earlier thread I posted in:

Thank you for your service Sir. That is a damn nice pistol from what I can see. IMHO the 1911 is a fine pistol and I will never be without one. There is a very simple reason why a 115 year old design is now being made by more companies, and in more flavors than any other pistol in the world. IT JUST WORKS. Sorry 1911 haters, you may not think it be like dat, but it do.

To wit:
How many different companies are making-
Glocks
H&Ks
CZs
S&Ws (non 1911 models)
XDs
Makarovs
Berettas (again non 1911 models)
Caniks
Walthers

compared to the number of companies making some iteration of the venerable 1911.

Well I think you see my point.
For all its perceived flaws and weaknesses there has to be a reason why so many companies make and sell them in the numbers that they do. I will never feel undergunned with a 1911 and 3-4 10 round magazines full of Black Talon, Gold Dot, or other similar ammo. Enjoy your new gun.


Glad to hear your 9mm is running like it was designed to.

My 1911 is, no BS, the most reliable gun I own.  I've had more issues with Glocks than my TRP.  My HK may prove to be as reliable but I don't shoot it nearly as much.  

Congrats on getting a good one.  If you know what the keep an eye on, the good ones will run and run.

glad to see i'm not the only one.

I have quite a few guns in my safe, including some that have a reputation for "reliability". Among those, my M&P .40 which is plagued with issues and is back with manufacturer for the 2nd time in as many years, my GP100 ("built like a tank" per several online reviews) which just got back from ruger when it started to come apart. Most of my trigger time professionally has been with a gen 3 glock 19 which was also not without issues. I feel its still early but I have high hopes for how this thing will perform when it gets to 5000k+ rounds.

Only complaint is safety is fitted a little tight and the grip safety is rattling a bit. These should both be easy fixes.

A lot contributes to the urban legend that 1911's "don't work".  Taurus and Wilson Combat both make 1911's, and yet they're really not exactly the same thing are they?  The knowledge required to care for one is significantly greater than just about any other commonly used pistol.  The margins between a perfectly safe one and a totally unsafe one are pretty slim.  The margins between a reliable one and an unreliable one aren't that great either.  So you need to buy quality, you need to educate yourself and you need to be maintain it.  Does that sound like most of the people on the internet to you?  If you're an enthusiast and are willing to put in the time, nothing beats it.

This is well put.  I am quite fond of the internet and the opinions held within, but often find that my reality does not align with the internet.
I consider myself a curious person, and am capable of understanding what makes a 1911 work, or not work.  Out of all of the 1911s i've had I can attribute reliability issues in any of them to a handful of bad magazines.  Except for the one 9mm Colt Commander I bought used that someone had modernized.  Took a while to find magazines that worked for it , probably had a combination of some other things wrong too.

But in short, you got a good gun.  Enjoy the heck out of it!



and post pictures

They work quite well when set up correctly.   Sometimes they aren't; being oversprung is probably the most common error.